Maintainance of a mini cooper

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http://www.northamericanmotoring.com

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I have a 2004 Mini Cooper that I bought used just over a year ago.
Shortly after I bought the car, there were a couple of things that I
realized were not right. One was that the electronic key did not work on
the driver's side door, which I could not unlock remotely. The other was
that one of the speakers in the passenger side door did not work. The Mini
dealer fixed these without charge, and I have had no further problems.

In addition, I mentioned to the dealer at the same time that the
steering seemed heavier than I would have expected. The dealer replaced the
power steering pump, again without charge. However, the steering still
seemed unduly heavy to me, and that remains a problem. I mentioned it again
to the dealer at the most recent maintenance, but was told that they could
find nothing wrong. I have seen comments to the effect that some people
think BMWs typically have power steering that requires more effort than
other cars, and that may be the explanation here.

Otherwise, I have had no problems with the car.

I have a 04 mini One. Its done 51K Miles.
The costs so far have been ...
the original TLC pack - which covered all servicing till end of 07 at cost of £100.
I have Xtended the TLC for another 3 years at a cost of £300.
This car is amazing...It did 47K miles on one set of front tyres, I have had two MOTS which cost £45 each.
The only thing which went wrong in my mini was the interior light 'push' buttons in the roof light. I glued these back in myself.
On the whole an amazing car.

Under normal driving conditions the mileage costs are also @ 46.7 mpg per gallon (Non motorway). - The car only seems to do this on super unleaded!! Regular the mpg is < 40 tops.

Take a look at http://www.motoringfile.com where they are currently
doing an item on used MINIs and what to look for and avoid. The article
is called "MotoringFile MINI R50/R53 US Buyers Guide"